Weekly Top 5: MTV Video Music Awards Videos

If spectacle is what you’re after, the MTV Video Music Awards didn’t disappoint. The performances, the controversies, the fact that it was in Brooklyn — you couldn’t avoid footage of this event if you tried. It doesn’t even matter that MTV hasn’t played music videos regularly since the Clinton administration.

Video highlights from the show were everywhere, though one in particular made the rounds more than any other (take a guess which one). RealPlayer Daily Videos collects and highlights the most popular videos on a variety topics, including comedy, automobiles, and science and technology. Given the enormous attention paid to this year’s VMAs, this was a good week to focus on music. With that in mind, here are the top five video highlights from the MTV Video Music Awards.

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5. MACKLEMORE AND RYAN LEWIS, “SAME LOVE”

In one of the evening’s less-controversial moments, this performance of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ gay rights anthem “Same Love” found some love from online video viewers. Surprise guest Jennifer Hudson joined vocalist Mary Lambert on stage for the powerful performance. The video won the award for Best Video With a Social Message. We were pretty sure that one wasn’t going to go to “Blurred Lines.”

4. ’N SYNC REUNION

It didn’t last long, but the ’N Sync reunion sure made an impression on a lot of people. After spending about 15 minutes celebrating himself, Justin Timberlake performed with his former boy bandmates for the first time in 11 years, squeezing in “Gone,” “Girlfriend,” and “Bye Bye Bye” in less than two minutes. Where else can you see young women swooning over five guys in their 30s and 40s line dancing?

3. KATY PERRY, “ROAR”

The former Mrs. Russell Brand performed her new single, “Roar,” under the Brooklyn Bridge on a stage set up as a boxing ring. But this is the VMAs, so it’s a boxing ring with dancers. It’s hard to tell if this was a musical performance or a Tae Bo workout. Then again, no one makes skipping rope seem as fascinating as Perry does.

2. LADY GAGA, “APPLAUSE”

If you like costume changes, then Lady Gaga’s performance of “Applause” is the video for you. Gaga starts out looking like an avant-garde version of the Flying Nun, then sheds the habit for a series of somewhat less pious get-ups, capped off with the now-infamous seashell and g-string bikini.

1. MILEY CYRUS/ROBIN THICKE/KENDRICK LAMAR

Look away! Look away! We know, like the song says, you can’t stop. What can we say about Miley Cyrus’ performance that hasn’t already been said? You’ll want to twerk your eyes out after watching, yet it’s strangely compelling. Meanwhile, Robin Thicke’s suit looks like it came from the formal wear section at Foot Locker. And you’ll never look at a foam finger the same way again. This video may be (barely) safe for work, but you’ll definitely want to keep the little ones away from watching the performance.

What were your favorite moments from this year’s VMAs? Let us know in the comments section.